05/05/2024
Real Estate can be a roller coaster, don’t get off until the ride is over 😉 love this story of encouragement!
We lived in Athens for a good 5 years before moving to the big city of Winder, Georgia. I was commuting about 35 minutes to work, which was fine, until the Caboose started kindergarten. He was going to the elementary school right beside my middle school, so he was my ride or die carpool partner. Well, it got to be too much. I finally told my Sugar Daddy we had to live close to Bo’s school and his friends. I wanted to be plugged-in, and you just can’t do that with a 35 minute commute.
So, we put our house on the market during Spring Break, and it sold within 2 weeks. Fortunately, they let us remain in our house until school got out for the summer, but the frantic search was now on. We needed a home and fast.
This was April of 2015, so there was no house shortage. We’d find one, and the deal would fall through. We’d find another one and 5 other people had already beat us to it. We even offered $5,000 MORE on one house, and our offer was still rejected. This cycle repeated until it was summer and our time was up. We were homeless for about 5 minutes. That’s when we called my widowed father-in-law and he very graciously offered us a room at the inn.
We packed all our things in a POD and prepared to enjoy our summer while steadily hunting for a house. Remember that vicious cycle of disappointment I mentioned above? Well, it continued. It was now August, school was starting back, and all my “teacher clothes” were stored in a POD somewhere in Buford. We never anticipated needing it that long. Why was finding a house so hard? Why were all our deals falling through? I believe we set a world record (in 2015) for the most failed house deals. True story!
This went on for months until one November day. A house magically appeared for sale within 5 minutes from the Caboose’s school. It was in the middle of a fenced pasture. It had a barn, a security gate, and a pool. (OMG! I had always wanted a pool.) Could this be the one? But, it was out of our budget (and not by a little bit either).
At this point, what did we have to lose? We’d been living out of suitcases since May. So, we offered them tremendously less - like $50,000 LESS… and they accepted our offer! We closed on December 30, 2015. 🙌🏼 Just like that, I knew why all those other deals had fallen through. God was guiding us to something much better. He was guiding us to the place that checked all our boxes. - the place that was perfect for us.
From April until December… Talk about a LONG season of rejection, frustration, and disappointment! You may find yourself experiencing these emotions right now. They’re not a sign that God has forgotten you. They’re a sign God is preparing something greater for you. Stay the course! Trust God’s plan even when you don’t understand the path.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; seek his will in all you do, and he shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6
